Gateway Arch National Park — Attraction in St. Louis

I took my kids. I have a National Parks pass and am Military. This has gotten us all in to most parks for free. Here it was good for $3 off an adult ride to the top, not extended to the other tickets. Meh, I’ll take it. I believe the museum portions may be otherwise free. The rides up are timed to control flow at the top. We went up the “newer” South Tram… it was much quieter and smoother than I remembered. It has been a bit more than 20 years since my last time up- so there may have been some improvements/upgrades. Or maybe it’s just a smoother ride on one side over the other. The top was divided in half and we are asked to stay on our half. I tried to go in at the base of the leg, but those are both exit only and the entrance is inland from the river (under the hill, not “at the top of the hill” as described). Very large, clean bathrooms! We were hurrying, as this was a quick detour on a looooong road trip, so didn’t dawdle at the entrance fountain that my kiddos wanted to wade in- and it’s one way traffic through…. So no going back. If your kids want to dawdle at the fountain and you have the time, you’ll save walking by letting them 😉. We got our Junior Ranger books, and somebody left hers on the tram car, thinking she could get it on the trip down 🙄- there were guests going down and different guests coming back before she got back in the same car… it was gone. So one of us didn’t complete a badge. But here’s a fun tip from a different park… stamp the back of the wooden badge with a date stamp from the park! Because it’s a cool, free souvenir- also, it will withstand a trip through the washing machine and still be legible (IYKYK)! We do recommend this stop at the smallest National Park. The expanded version is very cool and educational. There is even a small cafe to lunch near the exit. There is NOT a riverboat McDonald’s moored at the river anymore. We missed getting to “the Old Cathedral” this trip- but you can see it from the park. The park is beautiful, has ponds, walkways, lot of trees AND plenty of open space to run and climb a hill or steps down to the river- as younger knees all did this visit! We parked in a pay lot ($10/Sunday) and walked under a bridge on the Rue d’Iglese (?), I discovered on entrance to the Visitor Center/Museum, there’s validation for the “official parking lot” which is Stadium Parking. Also our visit was on a Game Day, so I was advised that I might not have found parking available in it. I don’t know how much one would save on parking. We paid all in all about $75 for 4 of us to make some core memories for a few hours. We definitely could have stayed longer! Pack a lunch and you could easily spend a day for that price, and even get to Mass at the “Old Cathedral” if rightly timed… I’m taking a star because I couldn’t find ANY info on pricing or military discounts or anything online. Also, we forgot to buy anything at the gift shop- we must have passed it too quickly? I did get a cup of coffee. Next time we will stay longer to explore museum and gift shop and I can update my review if I find a quick way to price info, but “the Google” wasn’t helpful that day for it. Have fun, get out and...

This was a really nice experience at an iconic landmark in St. Louis. I chose the Captain’s View, which included a riverboat cruise, the museum, and the arch tram ride to the top. The customer service was great - I accidentally selected the wrong date, and Marc helped me fix the date with a friendly attitude. The cruise added something different to do that you can’t do in all large cities. Note: the Mississippi River is muddy, so don’t expect pretty water - just enjoy the experience, the commentary, and the arch views from the water! The staff member in the river boat gift shop was nice, personable, and friendly. The museum was modern and pretty - I didn’t expect it to be so engaging. Our tour guide to the tram was Valerie - she was fun, friendly, and had a great spirit to keep things fun! How cool that the arch tram is one of a kind - an escalator, an elevator, and a Ferris wheel all in one! There are glass windows on the tram buckets, so you can see the internal architecture of the arch - having the ability to see out helped with clostrophobia. Views from the top are beautiful - you can even see straight down to the bases of the arch because of how the top is angled. We loved this experience and highly...

When people think of the landmarks in the United States, they usually go for the Statue of Liberty for New York (it used to be the Twin Towers, but let's not go there), the Hollywood sign for Los Angeles and of course, the iconic Arch for St. Louis. It's a memorial that as far as I know is completely unique in the world. What's amazing is how massive it is - you can see it from miles away, peeking over the horizon from west St. Louis as you approach on the highway.

I've been inside it and I've ridden the elevator to the top for the spectacular view, which I recommend highly. The warning is that if you're claustrophobic, you might want to skip it though. It's a small elevator and it's a bit of a bumpy ride, as it's straight up as you start from the bottom and it has to go a bit closer to sideways as you get closer to the top. But the view is well worth it!

Underneath the Arch is a massive museum dedicated not just to the Arch but to the expansion westward that started from St. Louis. It really is the Gateway to the West.

If you have time, watch the video that shows the construction of the Arch in the mid-60's. It's amazing to watch the engineering that went into standing up...